Karen J. Greenberg

“Trump order to keep Guantanamo open ‘sheer stupidity” Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reports on Donald Trump’s confirmation that he will keep the Guantanamo Bay detention facility open. Many experts in the field believe that this is the wrong decision. Karen Greenberg said, “the idea of institutionalizing Guantanamo is wrong now, it was wrong in the past [and] it’s always going to be wrong.”

“Trump just signed an executive order that will keep Guantanamo open” Vox

Vox reports that during Trump’s State of the Union speech, he committed to keeping the Guantanamo Bay prison open which reverses an executive order made by Barack Obama to close the prison. Karen Greenberg commented wondering if this is a return to the “old practices of the war on terror that we thought we had sufficiently gotten rid of.”

The Washington Post fact checks a report that the Department of Justice put out that claims that the majority of people who commit terrorist attacks are foreign born. The statistic was reached by looking at international incidents and includes people who committed attacks overseas and were brought to trial in the United States. Many counter-terrorism experts believe that the report is inaccurate because of the arbitrary parameters used. Karen Greenberg said, “the new report from the Trump administration showed a need for more rigorous standards in the government. It’s an awfully thin report for an absolutely important topic. There’s almost no rhyme or reason to the things they choose to include or not include — they don’t explain it.”

“Trump’s Attack on DACA: Part of a larger war on immigrants?” Salon

Salon reports on various governmental policies that are impacting immigrant communities in the United States . Commenting on a report put out by the Department of Justice on immigration and terrorism, Karen Greenberg said, “There’s almost no rhyme or reason to the things they choose to include or not include. They don’t explain it.”

NBC News reports on the recently released report on terrorism from the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security. Many experts have criticized the report and say that the problem is more nuanced. Karen Greenberg pointed out that “the long timeline of the report overshadows the evidence — and the effects — of a more recent tactic used by ISIS that has produced U.S.-born attackers. Unlike al Qaeda, which carried out the Sept. 11 attacks, the Islamic State has a decentralized power structure that relies heavily on radicalizing recruits living in Western countries and recruiting lone wolf attackers via social media. [She] thinks they are doing everything they can to justify the Muslim ban, and the unfortunate part of this is the backing away from the homegrown terrorist suspect ... and how to prevent it,. And if you are born in another country and, 20 years later, you become a terrorist, whose fault is that— the country you were born in or the country you've lived in?"

Daily Beast reports on the recently released Department of Justice report on terrorism statistics that have been critiqued by many experts. Karen Greenberg evaluated the report saying, “the percentage of individuals born inside the U.S. indicted for terrorism is now 54 percent, far beyond the 27 percent conviction rate for U.S.-born international terrorism, those 147 cases, cited in the report. That report is obscuring the fact that the number of U.S.-born international terrorism defendants have doubled.”

”Trump administration links terrorism and immigration, but an expert doubts the math” The Washington Post

The Washington Post reports on a recent report released by the Justice Department which claims that most terrorism in the United States is perpetuated by people born in other countries. Karen Greenberg said that what the report illustrates is the need for stronger statistical standards and said, “There’s almost no rhyme or reason to the things they choose to include or not include — they don’t explain it.”

“Prisoners sue Trump, allege anti-Muslim bias” Punch

Punch reports that eleven detainees at Guantanamo are suing the Trump administration, saying that they are being held illegally because they are Muslim. Karen Greenberg called the “habeas petition a novel new approach for the detainees, some in the prison since 2002 “

“Alka Pradhan v. Gitmo” The New York Times

The New York TImes profiles Alka Pradhan, a defense lawyer who is ‘human rights counsel’ for Guantanamo detainees. Pradhan discusses the challenges of navigating a system that is opaque and restrictive while trying to be an effective advocate for her clients. Karen Greenberg stated that the military commissions are, “challenged by logistics and.. [Guantanamo is].perpetual detention with the patina of a court process.”

"Middle East In Focus" KPFK Public Radio

Karen Greenberg discusses the present and future of Guantánamo on the Middle East In Focus podcast. Referencing the recent resignation of lawyers working on the USS Cole case, she said, "this is a system that starts to eat its own." She also brings up concerns about the unnamed American that is currently in U.S. custody in an unknown location and being labeled an enemy combatant.

“Suspect in New York truck attack pleads not guilty to murder and terrorism charges” PBS NewsHour

Phil Hirschkorn writes that Sayfullo Saipov pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and terrorism in Manhattan. He states that as charges were given to Siapov, a jury convicted Ahmed Abu Khattala of charges related to terrorism in Washington D.C.. Karen Greenberg said these cases are “examples of how prosecuting terrorists in civilian courts still works, and using military commissions instead is a deluded idea.”

"Prosecuting Terrorists in Civilian Courts Still Works" The Atlantic

"On November 15, the defense rested in the trial of terrorism suspect, Abu Khattala, the alleged conspirator behind the 2014 attack in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the deaths of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Given the notoriety of Khattala’s case, one might think it would garner greater notice. Yet his trial lasted seven largely uneventful weeks,” writes Karen J. Greenberg in The Atlantic. “For years, the Justice Department has worked to ensure that terrorism suspects wind up in federal court and not in military commissions. Now, under Trump and Sessions, things may be shifting.”

“Father, hacker and jujitsu instructor among Minnesotans under investigation for ISIS ties” The Star Tribune

The Star Tribune reports on recently unsealed FBI search warrant applications, including on people who have not been charged. Kar­en Green­berg said “ISIS’ territorial losses could curb its ability to attract new foreign recruits and leaves uncertain how many supporters will still be willing to commit violence in its name at home...ISIS’ big thing was to recruit to the ca­li­ph­ate and now they don’t have a ca­liph­ate. It may ac­tu­al­ly make it less powerful in terms of what it can inspire.”

Fox News reports that there are extra security measures in place for the New York City marathon. Karen Greenberg said, "I don't think people should be worried. The police know what they are doing. Look at how few successful attacks there have been."

“Trump’s death penalty tweets will likely throw a huge wrench in the NYC terror suspect’s case” Business Insider

Business Insider reports that Donald Trump’s tweets suggesting that Sayfullo Saipov should receive the death penalty may potentially impact how the case proceeds. Karen Greenberg commented saying, “This prosecution is going to go forward because it has to, for the better interests of justice, but I do think that the potential for the way it can derail is noteworthy and very unfortunate.”

Robert Windrem and Courtney Kube report on a case at Guantanamo Bay in which all the civilian defense lawyers have quit. Karen Greenberg explains that while it is “unknown what type of surveillance the defense is alleging, but there is past precedent. We know that in the past … an FBI mole was put on the defense team. We know that there were CIA listening devices placed in the courtroom that even the judge didn't know about. … We know listening devices were found in rooms where defense attorneys and clients met. In 2013, microphones had been discovered in the defense meeting rooms at Guantanamo, and the government confirmed that it had read some defense emails. We can't even imagine what is out there now.” The judge in the case has ordered that the case continue.

“Trump Calls Terrorism Trial Process ‘a Joke’, Despite Hundreds of Convictions” The New York Times

The New York Times reports that in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attack in Manhattan, Donald Trump critiqued the terrorism trial process calling it a joke, despite the extremely high conviction rate. Karen Greenberg pointed out that attackers in deadly plots are “rarely caught alive” and said that “transparency, due process and a fair trial are far more important to the legitimacy of the justice system than harsh sentences or conviction rates.”

“Fear and Tragedy in New York City” WNYC

Karen Greenberg appears on WNYC’s The Takeaway to discuss the terrorist attack in lower Manhattan. She explains that classifying this as a terrorist attack can give investigators and intelligence officers time to speak with the suspect prior to him being given his Miranda rights and then, after being read his Miranda rights, the suspect is turned over to law enforcement. Karen Greenberg also discusses the rarity of the circumstances in the U.S. in which the suspect has survived the attack and possible ways in which the case will proceed.

“Inspired or recruited? A question for investigators in the N.Y. terror attack” NJ

A recent study by the Center on National Security at Fordham University School of Law found more than 100 ISIS prosecution cases filed in this country between March 2014 and June 30, 2016, nearly eight in 10 individuals charged were U.S. citizens. A third were converts to Islam. Karen Greenberg said saying that the new propaganda from ISIS is to “do something where you are.”